You might know Alan Tudyk as Swash from Firefly/Serenity or Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball, but from now on he’s solely the standout droid from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, K-2SO (the towering bot who kindly refrains from killing Felicity Jones’s Jyn Erso in the new trailer).

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So, what do we know about the droid so far? And why is he one to watch? Allow us to explain…

K-2SO is a former Imperial droid

Eagle-eyed fans have already noticed the Empire’s insignia branded on K-2’s shoulder and the new trailer confirms another classic Imperial character trait: an English accent.

Yes, from Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux to the evil Emperor himself, most Star Wars villains speak the Queen’s finest. Unlike Rey (as far as we know), K-2 is no exception to the rule.

“I have an English accent. I feel like a lot of the Imperial characters are English, and the Rebels tended to be like Han Solo, you think of the Americans,” Tudyk recently told EW. “And because he was a droid, it made sense that it would be more of a proper accent.”

Exactly what evil orders K-2SO previously issued with his Imperial accent is unknown. Suffice to say, the character has a murky past.

His best bud is rebel pilot Cassian Andor – but not necessarily the rest of the rebels

Although it’s not clear exactly how the two teamed up, we know Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) was the rebel who re-programmed K-2 to desert the empire. An unlikely start to a friendship, but according to Tudyk, it’s a solid one:

“They’ve been around. They’ve been together for a while, a couple years. He wants what Cassian wants. He loves Cassian, because he freed him. It’s also more paternal in that [Cassian] gave him life and took away the bonds of his programming.”

However, K-2 only appears to be loyal to Andor, rather than the rebellion as a whole. That’s been brought to light by the bot’s line to Jyn Erso, Rogue One protagonist, in the new trailer: “The captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you.”

So what happens if Andor dies? Will K-2 rejoin the Empire and sabotage the rebellion’s plans?

K-2SO is an honest droid

A bit too honest perhaps, judging by his line in the trailer: “there is a 97.6% chance of failure.” He’s essentially a kick-ass, psychopathic C3-PO.

As Tudyk told EW: “He has no filter… He can say insulting things very casually if he thinks they’re true.”

An interesting character flaw, yes, but would K-2 reveal the rebel’s plans if re-captured by the Empire? Watch this space.

He’s not one for crying

Not that we’ve ever seen R2-D2 shed a tear, mind. But K-2SO’s sympathy chip will be far from functional in Rogue One.

“He’s not an overly emotional guy,” Tudyk said. “He’s not like C-3PO, who’s like a f***ing neurotic mess. He’s flappable. Kaytoo is much more in the unflappable category.”

He’s not like any of Alan Tudyk’s other robots

This isn’t Tudyk’s first time in the motion capture suit: he also played the sensitive and scary droid ‘Sonny’ alongside Will Smith in I, Robot.

Plus, Tudyk voiced Gizmo Default in the TV series Robot and Monster, as well as Scrapheap Head, Stinger Two and Mr Squeegee in Astro Boy.

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Give that man a robot and he’ll give you a voice. Probably an evil one.